Melinda Nelson

My sister, Melinda Nelson, was born with a rare digestive disease called Pseudo-Obstruction Syndrome. By the time she was just 38 years old, she was in need of a multi-visceral 5-organ transplant (stomach, liver, pancreas, small intestines, and colon) just to stay alive and continue raising her three young children (Chad, Grace, and Hannah) with her husband, Roy.

In 2015, Melinda received that life-saving transplant. The recovery was lengthy and arduous, but she was able to come home to her husband and kids a few months later.

Now, over 9 years later, she is facing a new health challenge. For the last six months, Melinda’s kidneys have been in the “severe kidney disease” zone, but she is now dropping down into kidney failure. She needs another transplant, this time for a kidney.

Melinda has now been approved for the kidney transplant list at Indiana University and her sister has been identified as a match to donate.

Melinda has been so blessed the last 9+ years to be able to mother her children as they participated in elementary school concerts, middle school sports, and other activities. This transplant is critical for her to help them in the next chapters of their lives – graduating high school, starting college, and each of their weddings.

Transplants are life-saving but financially draining. Even with insurance, some of her medical costs are not covered. Since the transplant is happening in Indiana, she and her donor are both incurring travel costs for the testing, surgery, and after-care.

To help with the financial burden of Melinda’s uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign in her honor has been established with HelpHopeLive, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax deductible, are held by HelpHopeLive, and are administered by HelpHopeLive for transplant-related expenses only. Please consider a contribution.

On behalf of Melinda, Roy, their children, and our family, thank you for your kindness, support, generosity and prayers.

Gratefully,

Nicole Hudson